The field of the present invention is plants. More specifically, the present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of basil plant.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a popular herb having cooking and medicinal uses. In cooking, the herb is often used either fresh or dried to impart its distinctive flavor into various dishes, especially Italian cuisine. The most common types of basil for cooking purposes are the Sweet Italian basil varieties. As an herbal medicine, basil is believed to have a soothing effect on the digestive system.
Basil is commonly used in cooking in either a fresh or dried form. Recently, the demand for fresh basil has mushroomed. Not only has there been a general trend in cooking to use fresh ingredients, but modern cooks are discovering the taste advantages of using fresh herbs such as basil. As with the sale of any harvested fresh plant, visual appeal and fresh characteristics are important to obtain maximum commercial value.
Sweet Italian basil is an annual plant that is generally planted for a single harvest season. Each year, therefore, a new crop of Sweet Italian basil is typically seeded. Sweet Italian basil is particularly susceptible to the disease, Fusarium wilt. Fusarium wilt is characterized by damping-off, collapse of the plant, wilting, and a brown dry rot. This disease is caused by any of several fungi of the genus, Fusarium. Fusarium wilt can devastate a stand of basil and there is no known effective remedy. Therefore, if a stand of basil is attacked by Fusarium wilt, the stand is harvested at dramatically reduced levels. Once a stand is infected with Fusarium wilt, a die off of about 70% is typical, thus dramatically reducing the economic value of the crop.
When fully grown, the Sweet Italian basil plant may reach a height of two feet. The plant has green shiny 1-2 inch long leaves and has spikes of white flowers. During its growth period the Sweet Italian basil plant is also susceptible to attack by insects. Particularly problematic is a the root knot nematode. The root knot nematode is an unsegmented worm such as the round worm, and attacks the root system of the Sweet Italian basil. Although not as devastating as Fusarium wilt, the root knot nematode has a significant negative effect on the production levels of that crop.
Sweet Italian basil, being an annual, is generally grown for only a single season and can commonly be harvested eight to ten times. Each time a basil plant is harvested, only selected parts of the foliage are removed for processing and sale. The harvested parts of the basil plant are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cbasil topsxe2x80x9d, even though the harvested parts do not necessarily come only from the top of the plant.
Commercially harvested sweet basil requires careful monitoring of temperatures for optimal production. For example, once temperatures reach approximately 100 degrees, there is a dramatic effect on the turgidity of the cell walls of the plant, causing rapid wilt. Therefore, a commercial basil grower must delay harvesting until more moderate temperatures return, or accept the risk that a substantial amount of the basil harvested in high heat will wilt and have to be discarded.
Once the basil tops have been harvested, they are refrigerated and packaged. The refrigerated packages are shipped to commercial market outlets where they are sold. Once the basil tops have been harvested from the Sweet Italian basil plant, the basil tops can deteriorate rapidly by wilting and turning black. Within a few days after harvesting, the harvested basil tops typically have deteriorated to the point they are no longer fit for sale. Once the basil has deteriorated beyond a point of marketability, it must be discarded by the commercial outlet, thereby being a total economic loss. Sweet Italian basil typically must be sold within only four days after harvest.
The productivity of basil is measured in the pounds of basil tops harvested per acre each month. Since fresh basil is sold by weight, the productivity of a crop of basil is therefore a primary indicator of the economic value for a particular variety. In the peak summer growing season, it is possible to get up to 9,250 pounds per acre per month from a crop of Sweet Italian basil. This productivity drops dramatically to about 3900 pounds per acre per month in the cooler winter months.
Once the growing season has ended, the basil plants are removed and new plantings are grown for the succeeding season. Although typically a crop of Sweet Italian basil is planted from seed, in some rare circumstances, it may be desirable to asexually propagate Sweet Italian basil. However, The Sweet Italian basil plant can be difficult to propagate asexually in quantity as asexually propagated basil plant typically die off at a rate exceeding 60%.
Thereby, known basil plants suffer susceptibility to Fusarium wilt, have a very limited shelf life, and are difficult to propagate.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a basil plant that has superior Fusarium wilt resistance. It is another object of the present invention that the basil plant have a good shelf life and can be easily propagated. It is yet another object of the present invention that the basil plant have increased production characteristics.
To overcome the deficiencies discussed above and meet the objectives, there is provided a novel variety of basil. The new basil plant is reproduced asexually, with cuttings maturing into transplantable plants in only a few days with a nearly 90% survivability rate. A crop of new basil plants has a die-off rate of typically less that 10% when attacked by Fusarium wilt. High leaf to stem ratio, fast growth, large leaf, and tall plants provide superior production rates.